Scrolling through your Instagram feed, you have probably seen this thing a lot. Though a relative newcomer to the filter brewer market, the Origami Dripper has seen a meteoric rise in popularity over the last few years, becoming ubiquitous in all things pour-over.
And looking at it, how could it not be? Let’s be honest, that sleek, ridged design and those beautiful pastel colours are very on-trend. As is common for products with an in-vogue aesthetic, the gorgeous looks of the Origami have helped it become a social media sensation and fuelled its charge towards the peaks of the pour-over-pantheon.
But there has to be more to it than just looks, right?
After all, specialty coffee bars and highly respected industry experts worldwide can now be seen wielding the Origami. For example, the 2019 World Brewers Cup champion Du Jianing and the 2020 ASCA Brewers Cup champ Carlos Escobar (who we previously looked at here). With a resume like this, surely there’s more to the Origami’s popularity than those pretty shapes and colours.
The answer to that question is yes. Beyond aesthetics, there is a reason the Origami Dripper has quickly risen to dizzying heights within the specialty coffee world. Under the hood lies some very clever engineering.
We at ECRE are converts: it’s our go-to filter brewer in the roastery, and you’ll be hard-pressed to find someone using anything different. Here are some of the reasons we are huge fans of the Origami.
WHY WE LOVE THE ORIGAMI
Material
One of the biggest strengths of the Origami Dripper is the quality of the material used in its production: Mino porcelain.
Mino is a very thin, yet robust and durable traditional Japanese porcelain with a reputation for excellence for more than 400 years. Its thinness gives it great thermal conductivity and very even thermal stability — it is excellent at retaining a consistent temperature. This sturdy porcelain heats fast and holds that heat for a long time. Other filter brewers cool down too quickly, risking over-extraction. Consistent brewing temperature means there are fewer variables in your brew, and more consistency between brews. The less variables you have to worry about, the more you can perfect your brew method.
The Origami Dripper really makes life easy in this regard.
Flow-rate
The twenty evenly spaced ridges that give the Origami Dripper its iconic silhouette are not just a visual feature.
When used with cone filters, the ridges create multiple air pockets between the dripper and paper filter that regulate brew time by ensuring that flow-rate, and thus draw-down, is optimised. Thus, this feature promotes a fast draw-down, offering a very controlled extraction speed that combats bottlenecking. This increased flow-rate also means that you can use a finer grind without risking over-extraction, potentially resulting in a sweeter cup.
When used with a flat bottom filter, the Origami’s ridges hold the filter’s ridged design perfectly, locking in the filter and preventing folding or creasing when pre-wetting. The Origami’s ridged yet open-bottomed design also enhances flat bottom filters by providing the even extraction that a flat bottom promotes, with the increased airflow provided by the open bottom design of a cone dripper. This reduces the risk of clogging and inconsistent draw-down flatbed brewers face due to their more restricted drainage holes.
The Origami gives you the benefits of both cone and flat bottom brewers, providing an even coffee bed and superior drainage.
Versatility
This was touched upon in the previous section, but it is important to discuss at more length: the Origami Dripper can be used with both cone and flatbed style filters. Why is this so important? Because this gives it a level of versatility we’ve never seen before in a filter coffee brewer, and that’s really exciting.
Different filter papers can be used with the Origami to obtain different final results. Effectively, it’s a choose-your-own adventure!
Want to highlight acidity and a clean cup? A cone filter and the Origami’s increased flow rate will be perfect for that. Or maybe you want to enhance body and sweetness? Then reach for a flatbed filter, which are often associated with a more sweet and balanced final cup that emphasises body.
The Origami Dripper’s versatility leaves exciting room for experimentation with your brewing that you would usually have to employ more than one brewer to attain. It gives much more freedom to express a wide range of flavours than a traditional cone or flatbed brewer.
Looks
We couldn’t finish without mentioning again how good it looks, right? The Origami Dripper’s angular and modern design, combined with its lovely range of pastel colours, make it more than just a coffee brewer.
It looks as good on the shelf as a decoration as it does brewing coffee! Its bold and pleasing looks make it a bit of a barista flex, and honestly, we love that.
Need we say more? The Origami Dripper’s unparalleled flow rate, thermal stability, durability and versatility all combine to make it a truly unique brewer, and in our opinion, the best in the business.
EDIT: Due to heightened demand we are currently out of stock of Origami Drippers. However, we will have them back in house shortly and will provide an update when we do.
